(Closed) Career Frustration

So my friends and I (English/humanities majors) all graduated from college about a year and a half ago. Most of my friends decided to get jobs right away instead of opting for more schooling. I decided to do my master’s in literature and graduated last month. For the last year and a half I’ve watched everyone get raises, get promotions, etc. I’ve been applying to jobs for months and I can’t even get one. I feel awful about myself. I feel like I’m so behind professionally. I apply to these jobs that I’m perfectly qualified for but then just get rejections if I hear from them at all. I’ve applied mostly to writing positions- I’ve written and been published, I wrote a beautiful 50 page thesis, I’ve presented at conferences, I’ve worked in academic departments, written for school newspaper, done internships, etc. I don’t understand what is wrong with me that I don’t even get consideration. It’s not like I expect to get paid more…

Sorry, I’m not really looking for advice or anything. Just very frustrated that I’ve worked so hard in my education so I’d be able to get a job someday. It breaks my heart that nothing has come to fruition.

Ugh I know how you feel. Not being able to find a job is just so disheartening, especially after all that work put into education… Try to keep a positive attitude, keep applying, figure out if there’s something wrong in your applications. You WILL get a job eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later! Good luck

Honey, I feel ya. I have a PhD in neuroscience and have been unemployed for going on 4 months now. It is tough out there, but don’t give up! You may need to lower your standards a little if you want to find a job in a reasonable amount of time.

@DuckEBee: I got my masters right out of undergrad too and I think it is a huge disadvantage. From my experience, most jobs require experience which you probably were not able to get while going to school full time for around 2 years. Instead, you got a higher degree which usualy coincides with a higher starting salary. Unfortunately, you are probably applying for entry level positions (since you have no experience) with people with bachelors, HR looks at the bachelors and sees they can get away with paying a lower salary.

It took me like 6 months to find a job after I received my masters, I even had 2 summers of internships. Unfortunately, a masters without experience can be a huge disadvantage, it sucks…I know.

@DuckEBee: I’m sorry sweetie 🙁 It’s a really tough job market out there. I used to commute 3 hours round trip, in awful bumper-to-bumper traffic, every day for a job that I was really unhappy with. I applied to literally hundreds of jobs before I got a single interview, and that interview led me to my new job, which is 4 miles from home and makes me much happier. Don’t give up! A month of job-hunting is nothing these days!

Big hugs. I know how painful it is – we have some friends who have been unemployed for 2+ years. Keep your chin up, keep applying, and do whatever you can to keep your writing active so you don’t lose your voice and get out of practice.

Can you volunteer at a non -profit to get some experience and a reference? It doesn’t have to be full time, but it will help take your mind off job applications (because no one can do that full time) . You may also start to build some connections that will help landing that job.

@DuckEBee: Are you open to applying for other jobs outside of your field for the moment? What might be hurting you is limited career work experience. While it is great to pursue graduate degrees, it puts you in a tough spot if you don’t have the necessary work experience for higher up jobs. Yes, internships and academic work is great, but sometimes employers want to see where else you have been employed full time.

If you start outside of your immediate field (maybe in human resources or something similar), you could still focus on getting into your field, but you could earn an income and build your resume.

@Lbward6: +1 Having a master’s without experience (or relevant work history) can be a very tough spot to be in right now. My Darling Husband did his master’s right after undergrad (in Sports Administration). He worked full time in retail as an Assistant Store Manager while pursuing, but it wasn’t relevant experience. He had a very hard time when applying for sports related positions. Now, he teaches physical education and coaches middle school. He doesn’t want to do it long term (maybe 2-3 years max), but he is using it as a stepping stone into athletic adminsitration.

@bmo88: I’ve been applying to about 50% jobs in my field and 50% outside of my field (sales, HR, office manager, etc.). What’s frustrating is I have non-academic, published work that I did out of my own accord. I wrote for a local magazine for a while, for example. It’s not like 5 years of experience, but I had hoped that it would amount to something, ya know?